


Procrastination Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend

by goldenchains



Category: Arctic Monkeys, Last Shadow Puppets
Genre: 2005, Alex procrastinates for the first time in a while, College, Final Exams, M/M, Miles is asleep, Watery tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-08 20:15:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18630517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenchains/pseuds/goldenchains
Summary: Alex procrastinates during final exams and as a result, he's up early on Sunday morning to stay on track while Miles sleeps peacefully.





	Procrastination Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend

If there was someone to blame for the way Alex was feeling, it would be himself. His alarm clock buzzed loudly, startling him awake. Panicked, he blindly reached for the clock to shut off the alarm. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling, the dim light of his lamp barely illuminated the opposite side of the room. Exhaustion tugged on every inch of his body and he wanted to curl back into bed.

He forgot he wasn’t alone until Miles stirred in his sleep. Slowly sitting himself up, Alex sighed as he looked at Miles who peacefully slept without a responsibility in the world. After reasoning with himself, he got out of bed. Taking his iPod shuffle and headphones with him, he quietly exited his room and made his way to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. While his tea steeped, he wandered around the dark kitchen and tried to improve his mood with The Strokes without waking his flatmates. Impatient to get back to bed, he grabbed his mug and returned to his bedroom. Mentally cursing, he set down the steaming mug at his desk and quietly settled himself.

The cool air entering the window was welcomed against his hands and Miles shuffled again, Alex’s attention turned to him and a smile turned on his lips. For a second he wondered if he was cold but he soon reminded himself that when he woke, Miles had tugged most of the blankets away.

Alex was very particular with the way he handled the coursework, especially now with exams. It was never for the satisfaction and pride of others, but for himself. And normally he was keen on calendaring out school, work, and his social life but the last two days his mantra was _‘I deserve this fuckin’ break’_. It was on the back of his mind, everything he had to turn in by Monday but he was having far too much fun with Miles the night before that he kept putting it off. He even made Miles ‘negotiate’ with him, telling him of his plan and then asking for motivation. It was close to 11 o’clock when he and Miles went to bed and Alex set himself a two-hour timer for him to nap and focus on the task at hand. He used this technique last Friday to free his weekend and it proved to be successful.

Booting up his laptop, he impatiently waited with his mug; only to be disappointed in the watery taste. His eyes wandered to Miles, who comfortably lay in bed, warm and dreaming of passing his first year because he did his work prior. He longed to be beside his boyfriend, in his warm embrace and to catch up on the hours of lost sleep.

He was even there and he couldn’t be bothered to run back to his dorm room and work together. Miles was working on an Architecture final which he had started a week ago, welcoming Alex who came to visit. They sat in Miles’s dorm room for a good four hours, Miles working away at his structure and Alex laying on his bed and narrating every action he took on Miles’s Civilization IV.

“Alex, love. I’ve got to cut up this cardboard and I can’t mess up,” Miles said as he waved about his utility knife. At that point, Alex felt like he was not only annoying but he could be doing better things than hogging about his boyfriend’s laptop to play video games and distract him while he worked with a knife close to his fingers. He considered it, he paused the game and thought about how long it would take him to walk to his dorm room and grab his things so they could both work. Even after contemplating the thought, Alex resumed playing.

It was half-past twelve and Alex began to edit a book report he began a few days back, with The Strokes playing in his ears; he felt competent. The air made his bare feet cold, and as he moved onto his Geology exam his nose began to run. Knowing the routine of his professor and his take on online exams, Alex felt confident in passing with top marks. Then, the cold air proved to be bothersome as his nose wouldn’t stop running and he didn’t want to finish his tea. His attention turned to Miles again, his body barely noticeable beneath the bundle of blankets and Alex wanted to warm himself up, or at least shut the window but the conversation of how to have the best sleep as stated by Miles: _a window cracked wide open with thick blankets on top of you, it’s a dream!_

He was almost certain that Miles was dreaming because before they went to bed, he opened his window wide open and they hid beneath the covers. They were breathless from all the laughing from moments before.

“I can’t believe you’ve never slept this way, Al,” Miles whispered as his hand reached for Alex’s.

”It doesn’t get hot enough? I don’t think at least. Besides, it’s spring! Where did you even learn to do this?”

Alex let go of his hand and he flipped his position. Miles lay his head by the headboard, and Alex lay his at the end of the bed. They both looked up at the bare ceiling and reconnected their hands, laying the same way they would if they laid on a patch of grass on a warm day.

”Spain, baby. We should celebrate exams by going on a weekend trip,”

Although he was asleep, Alex didn’t want to ruin his luxury.

An hour passed and Alex was halfway through the questions, he was cold and his arms were covered with gooseflesh, his nose was runny and exhaustion was creeping behind his back. Thumbing through his textbook, he let out a yawn in which he couldn’t help but squeeze his eyes shut. To his surprise, saliva dripped onto the page of his textbook and embarrassment took over as he wiped it off with his shirt. Holding his head in his hands, he regretted his procrastination leaving him in the position he was.

Moments later, Miles stirred in bed and Alex froze. Tentatively watching, he took off his headphones to make sure he didn’t wake. When the coast was clear, he turned back to his work but Miles began to speak incoherently in his sleep.

“Mhm, mhm..” followed by muffled words, Alex eased and smiled.

“You’re teasing me, aren’t ya Kane. You aren’t even awake,” He whispered in his direction.

At this late hour, Alex considered guessing on the rest of the questions once he found himself carding through the same pages over and over again. He even tried jumping from one question to the other but his exhaustion turned to frustration as he couldn’t grasp the answers when he knew they were right in front of him; he just had to find them.

His restlessness was getting to him as he made a mental note to never procrastinate ever again.

“Why do I need to know about fuckin’ ammonoid cephalopods?” He questioned himself as he began to angrily flip through the pages. His tired eyes scanned the pages word for word, finding nothing. Leaning back into his chair, he pressed his fingers against his eyelids as he held back a frustrated groan. Eventually, Alex pulled the back of his shirt over his head as if it were going to make his situation better, his face sticking out of the collar as he daftly stared at the timeline ahead of him. From time to time, he looked towards Miles and wished he was awake for comfort or motivation.

Miraculously, he found the answer and everything seemed to answer itself and he finished the daunting task. He fixed his shirt and stretched his arms out. With a sudden burst of pride, he chugged his now-cold-tea, imagining it being a pint.

Just as he was going to shut off his laptop and cuddle up with Miles, he remembered he had a write up due for his Composition class.

“Fuck!”

**Author's Note:**

> Set in 2005 - both are 19 and finishing their first year in college. Inspired by me, I'm Alex. Now, I'll go and finish my composition work.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
